Trusting.

Kerissa • April 27, 2017

“It is a glorious thing to know that your Father God makes no mistakes in directing or permitting that which crosses the path of your life.  It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.  It is our glory to trust Him, no matter what.”

~Joni Eareckson Tada 

Hello friends,

I’m so sorry it’s been more than a month since I last blogged! To be honest, the last several weeks have been very rough….

Long story short, I had yet another ER visit/hospital stay at the beginning of April because of issues with my port, neurogenic bladder complications (I had to be cathed, and they couldn’t get “it” in on the first AND second try which was so extremely painful!!! The third try almost didn’t work either!), dehydration, terrible nausea/vomiting, weakness, and other horrible medical stuff.  This admission was only 3 days, but it was really hard because I felt so miserable and yucky.

Here are all the other numerous medical updates:

Gastroenterology–

Good news first!  I am maintaining my weight and not losing more, so increasing my tube feeds is enough and we don’t have to up my TPN calories.

2-3 weeks ago, I started experiencing some concerning GI symptoms, and my GI specialist now believes my lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is not closing well.  This is not good news. My LES not working properly is causing me to have gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).  I wish I didn’t have to deal with yet another problem on top of everything else going on. There’s no easy fix for this, but he is having me try 2 weeks of a proton pump inhibitor med.  Would appreciate your prayers that this med can at least reduce the frequency of these new symptoms—haven’t been sleeping well at all because it happens often at night.

Orthopedic Surgery–

I had an 8-month post-op appointment with my hip surgeon recently.  I continue to need physical therapy twice a week.  I make good progress, but every time I get admitted to the hospital, that progress gets set back. It’s sad for both me and my physical therapists because it takes a lot of hard work to strengthen my muscles, and with every hospital stay, I become weak and don’t bounce back fast.

Nephrology–

Recently, my blood Magnesium level dropped, so my nephrologist had to increase my IV Mg yet AGAIN. I now receive 8 GRAMS of IV Mg every single day which is a crazy huge amount!!  My GI dr. keeps saying I’m the black hole of Mg.

Physical Medicine–

My PCP referred me to my physical medicine dr. to get his input regarding my achy back that I continue to have.  Because of my osteopenia, he wanted to make sure that my achy back is not from any spinal compression fractures.  Thankfully, the x-ray was normal.  So the pain is most likely due to my muscle weakness…..I will be seen in his brace clinic to get fitted for a flexible thoracic back brace.  Unfortunately, he is completely booked out, so I can’t get fitted for one until the middle of July! I am on his waiting list, though, in case anyone cancels..

ENT–

My ENT dr. has been a Top Doctor in the Portland Monthly magazine many times, and I’m not surprised at all!  He is so knowledgeable and caring. He doesn’t think post-nasal drip is what’s causing my chronic cough.  Instead, he thinks I have a type of asthma (there are many types!), so he’s starting me on a steroid inhaler which is to be used with a “spacer.”  He did say it will take a while to start working.  I’m to see him again in 3 months..

________________

As you can see, so much keeps happening.  It’s a lot for me to process, but I am trying to continue rejoicing in suffering.  It’s definitely not easy, and I wonder if/when something big will ever happen that’s not BAD news.  But, as I keep plugging away, I will rejoice in my sufferings, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

Continuing to put my hope in Christ!

P.S. Aren’t these flowers so beautiful? Very kind church friends gave them to me 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I’m still enjoying them even today!

Surgery Update 😊

By Kerissa Lee • August 21, 2026
Dear friends, I just wanted to thank you all so much for praying for me during my abdominal surgery on August 6th! 💚 All of your messages/emails really encouraged my heart! If you missed my previous post, I had to have an unexpected surgery to take down the jejunostomy tract and repair an enterocutaneous fistula (a rare complication from having a j-tube for 12 years). I truly felt your prayers, and the Lord answered so many of them as well! 🥹 My surgeon only had to remove about 1 1/2 inches of my small intestine which is great news! I was in the hospital for 4 days because my blood pressure was low and pain control was rough (it’s a long story, but pain management is complex due to a specific medication I take daily at home..). But aside from that and having an allergic reaction to the surgical glue, I’ve been healing well. Thank you again for praying!! God has been so faithful throughout this journey. I got a visit from my sweet foster nephew when I was in the hospital (2nd picture)! 🥰 I can’t wait until I can show you his face—he’s so adorable. 🩵 I’ve mentioned this before, but an important medication I take causes severe insomnia (still not falling asleep until anywhere between 3 AM-9 AM). 😞 But I saw my naturopath this past Monday, and she’s going to treat me for suspected cortisol spiking up during the night (which disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm). I’m thankful for the wisdom God gives her, and I’m excited to see if this treatment will help! It will take 6 weeks to see if there’s any benefit, but I first have to specially order it.. 

August 6th Surgery Prayer Requests 💚

By Kerissa Lee • August 6, 2026
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1

Another surgery 😞

By Kerissa Lee • July 25, 2026
Hi, friends, I thought I wouldn’t be posting for a while since I’ve been doing really well, but I’ve hit a bump in the road again and would appreciate your prayers. 💚 This past Tuesday the 21st, after nearly 12 years living with it, I had my jejunostomy tube removed completely. I thought it was going to be a simple process and that the stoma (hole) would close quickly within 30 minutes like they said. That didn’t happen, though, as the stoma started draining a ton! I couldn’t even leave the lobby and had to go back up to the clinic on the 8th floor to have an ostomy bag placed to collect all the small intestinal digestive juices that continually drained. Unfortunately, I’m experiencing a very rare complication called an enterocutaneous fistula. 🥺 I’m disappointed this is happening, but I’m not exactly surprised since my whole medical case with Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome has been rare from the very beginning.. I also don’t heal well due to connective tissue problems from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (case in point: my port site issues back in May when I had to have a new one surgically placed on the other side of my chest).. 😞 The clinic told me to keep emptying the ostomy bag and monitor the output. It wasn’t a fun 2 days. This whole process has definitely made me so grateful to God that I’ve never needed something like an ileostomy! TMI, but I lost almost a whole pound of fluid because so much was gushing/spurting out of the stoma every time I ate or drank. Losing so many electrolytes, I started experiencing symptoms of dehydration—weakness, high heart rate, and headaches. So yesterday, I had to go back and see the surgery resident who basically placed another j-tube (it was so painful again!). 😭 This is a temporary “plug,” and I’m bummed to say that I have to go to the operating room to have the jejunostomy tract taken down and the fistula repaired. This surgery will be happening as early as next week (it depends on my surgeon’s schedule).. She said it will be complex, especially because adhesions (scar tissue) form when a person has multiple abdominal surgeries.. I lost count what number this surgery/procedure will be, but I do know I’ve had more than 20! 😞 I know God is with me wherever I go and will supply me with the strength to endure yet another surgery like he always does. But, I’m still sad that I have to have more incisions added to my body. I shared the lyrics to this song before on an old blog post (the song is called It Is Well With My Soul by Matt Redman), but it immediately came to mind again when I was thinking of scars. As the song below said, it’s a reminder to me that my scars can be a testimony to others of God’s grace in my life and how he has brought me through every single pain and sorrow. In the Bible, I’ve always thought it’s so neat that Jesus still had his scars after he rose from the dead—he had a new body, and yet, his scars were still visible. ❤️ Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives Oh Father, how You brought us through When deep were the wounds And dark was the night The promise of Your love, You proved Now every battle still to come Let this be our song It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul